Articles & Long Notices
General News · 1st January 2009
Richard Trueman
Alamos has had a glorious and turbulent history. It was founded in 1682, but didn’t become prominent until the late 1700s where large deposits of silver were found and mined in the area. At one point Alamos was the capital of the area and minted a large portion of the currency of the day.
The mining interests were controlled by just several Spanish families and 1/5th of the silver bars would have to go to Spain. Each bar would be 4 by 12 by 2 inches high and weighed 200 lbs. A donkey could hold but 2 bars. So several times a year, 1000 donkeys and 100 pistoleros would take this tithe to Mexico City to be shipped to Spain. The rest went into the coffers of the few families. It is estimated that one family earned a Million dollars a year, -and that is todays money but in the 1700s!
At the best of the times, they lived in extended moorish style houses that took up city blocks. The Senor of the house would ride his steed about and populate the landscape. One dad had 70 children by three women and they went on to give him 350 grandchildren!
However, the times were turbulent as mentioned earlier. The indigenous people, enslaved mine workers, and Yaquis revolted and would raid and war with Alamos. Even some from the indentured families would be killed, here, and while trying to escape by boat in the Sea of Cortes. Many of the structures in Alamos have secret tunnels for hiding in these times of attack. Then there was the cholera plague that decimated the town, then the burning of Alamos to curtail the plague...
We went to see the main area where the mining was carried out. It is a small town 6k outside Alamos called La Aduana. Aduana means customs in Spanish, referring to the customs as in border crossing.
It is a beautiful valley surrounded by small mountains with a stream running through. Everywhere are ruins of adobe mud slab buildings that have “melted” away with time. Remnants of the old smelter remain and probably the garrison atop one of the hills. The area has become a flora and fauna nature reserve and Mexicans inhabit the mine town and some sell crafts and some tend the old church.
Pictures of the old church are in the Gallery.
The mining interests were controlled by just several Spanish families and 1/5th of the silver bars would have to go to Spain. Each bar would be 4 by 12 by 2 inches high and weighed 200 lbs. A donkey could hold but 2 bars. So several times a year, 1000 donkeys and 100 pistoleros would take this tithe to Mexico City to be shipped to Spain. The rest went into the coffers of the few families. It is estimated that one family earned a Million dollars a year, -and that is todays money but in the 1700s!
At the best of the times, they lived in extended moorish style houses that took up city blocks. The Senor of the house would ride his steed about and populate the landscape. One dad had 70 children by three women and they went on to give him 350 grandchildren!
However, the times were turbulent as mentioned earlier. The indigenous people, enslaved mine workers, and Yaquis revolted and would raid and war with Alamos. Even some from the indentured families would be killed, here, and while trying to escape by boat in the Sea of Cortes. Many of the structures in Alamos have secret tunnels for hiding in these times of attack. Then there was the cholera plague that decimated the town, then the burning of Alamos to curtail the plague...
We went to see the main area where the mining was carried out. It is a small town 6k outside Alamos called La Aduana. Aduana means customs in Spanish, referring to the customs as in border crossing.
It is a beautiful valley surrounded by small mountains with a stream running through. Everywhere are ruins of adobe mud slab buildings that have “melted” away with time. Remnants of the old smelter remain and probably the garrison atop one of the hills. The area has become a flora and fauna nature reserve and Mexicans inhabit the mine town and some sell crafts and some tend the old church.
Pictures of the old church are in the Gallery.
